According to IRNA, Mikhail Ulyanov, speaking at the quarterly meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday, a copy of which was published on his X social network, expressed hope that the process of negotiations between the agency and the new Iranian government will be resumed faster.
We (Russia) urge Western countries to exercise restraint, not to make any sudden and sudden moves and allow the Director General of the Agency and the Iranian side to create a process without external pressure, he said.
All member states of the Board of Governors should give the IAEA Director General and Iranian officials the opportunity to have a constructive and meaningful dialogue without harmful interventions, the Russian envoy continued, saying “In our opinion, this will be the best way to show confidence in the director general of the agency and his efforts”.
Ulyanov also advised the IAEA chief to stop "plowing" in the history of Iran's nuclear activities. "We are dealing with a 30-year-old issue, and the agency must stop the flawed practice of delving into the history of Iran's nuclear program and reviving old stories. This process is counterproductive".
In his address to the meeting in Vienna, he also touched on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program and criticized Western countries for not fully implementing it. "The root cause of the current situation with the JCPOA is unchanged: the unilateral illegitimate withdrawal of the US from it, the ongoing policy of maximum pressure on Iran and the refusal to finalize the negotiation process to reanimate the JCPOA,"
The Russian envoy recalled that the IAEA Board of Governors adopted a resolution proposed by the UK, France, and Germany in June criticizing Iran for allegedly insufficient cooperation with the IAEA. As a result, Iran was "once again provoked" and launched new centrifuges to enrich uranium.
"We urge our opponents not to resort to a destructive policy, not to escalate the situation with the Iranian nuclear program, but reconsider approaches that lead to narrowing space for the diplomatic process to restore the JCPOA," he said.
Last month, the IAEA Director General, in a letter, congratulated Pezeshkian on his victory in the presidential election and announced his readiness to travel to Iran and discuss the resumption of negotiations on the resolution of safeguards issues.
In a television interview last week, he stated that he received a letter from the Iranian President regarding the continuation of negotiations regarding what he called "achieving valid guarantees about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program".
The director general of the agency said he hopes that his visit to Tehran will take place before the US presidential election.